Words by Hannah Reynolds on Twitter and Instagram
Mallorca is like a theme park for cyclists. This small island is covered with cycling hotels, bike hire shops and cycle cafes. In spring and Autumn, the roads are filled with seemingly endless pelotons of Brit, Dutch, German, Belgium and increasingly American cyclists. It is variously described as a ‘haven’, a ‘hot-bed’ and a ‘mecca’ for professional and amateur cyclists from all around the world. This was the first ever training camp destination back in the 1980’s, and it shows no signs of diminishing in popularity.
Cyclists now come here because other cyclists come here. Being part of the scene is as important as the riding; you are just as likely to bump into people you know from the cycling club down the road as a SKY professional.
Mallorca is popular for a reason, though a relatively small island it is covered by myriad minor roads and it offers flat sea level riding, rolling undulations and minor mountains. The sheer number of cycling facilities, from the track at Palma to the bike hire shops, guided rides and hotels complete with bike storage make it an easy destination to come to.
How to get there
Flights to Palma are easy, frequent and generally fairly cheap, though its popularity with cyclists has meant that there are less out-of-season deals in late winter, early spring than there used to be.
There are so many cyclists travelling in and out of Palma with bikes that there is even a separate check-in area for you at the busiest periods. However, there have been incidents where flights have been overbooked with bike boxes, creating havoc for those arriving without their beloved steed. But not us, we will be strolling care-free straight through customs with just our hand-luggage without the bun fight at baggage reclaim.
